We started to set up a school garden at one of our middle schools in Salimde! To gain practical knowledge in gardening our volunteer Pia and the Peace Corps volunteer Jessica offer an afterschool activity in addition to the compulsory in-class course “agriculture”. Despite the hard work in a garden which also includes building a fence made out of collected wood and palm leaves the interest is large and students come in great number to each session. The excitement among the participants was especially great when each and every one planted Moringa seeds in recycled plastic bags. More than 80 seedlings are now being taken care of until in two months they can be planted out in the school yard. We also started with composting to improve the quality of the soil and to fertilize the vegetable beds.

Note: Moringa has many benefits- it can be grown easily and cheaply in the sub-Saharan region, and the leaves retain lots of vitamins and minerals when dried, therefore often being used to fight malnutrition. But also all parts of the tree can be used for medical purposes.